[Tigers] 3/8 fuel line

[genepadgett at comcast.net]

----- Original Message -----



Joel, 

I am also in the process of running 3/8 inch fuel line. 

There is some great info provided by Owain Lloyd back on July 4, 2011 about connecting up 3/8 inch lines. The nipple on the crossover tube between the tanks is a british standard pipe thread. Your regular compression nut made over here will not connect properly. ( BTW same stuff applies for the SU fuel pump connections, not that it is relevant to your project.) 

Owain identifies an adapter and source that will connect a 3/8 inch line to the cross over pipe nipple. They can be purchased from a plumbing supply house in the UK, via the internet. Check out http://www.bes.co.uk/products/145a.asp and scroll down to Compression X BSP Parallel Female. Owain said the part number was either 7477 or 7476. I ordered both of them. The smaller female side one is the correct one. 

What is particularly nice about this adapter is that it does not restrict fuel flow as it comes out of the nipple. The nipple is designed to have a 5/16 line inserted into it. The adapter screws onto the OUTSIDE of the nipple where the compression nut originally went. It then has a stop in the middle for a 3/8 inch line coming from the other end. Then there is a compression nut and olive for a 3/8 line. If you insert a 3/8 inch line in the output side of the adapter and look through from the nipple side, you see no restriction. The smallest part of the passage is the ID of the 3/8 (OD) line. Nice. 

To install the adapter, you will need to cut off a small piece of the protective flange underneath the trunk floor to be able to get a wrench on the adapter. No big deal in my book. 

I am running aluminum fuel line since I really do not have the equipment to bend up and flare stainless. I also have put the pump in the trunk in the Alpine spare wheel well cavity. I am going to be using a Holley 125 to feed the 347 motor which is not in the car yet. 

If you are going to be putting a vertically mounted pump in the stock location over the muffler, I presume you are also aware of all the issues of related heat soak failures that can and usually do occur and how to deal with that potentiality. 

Gene